Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours five legends

On Friday 8 April, Canada Soccer will celebrate five honoured members of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame at half time of the Canada v Nigeria home match at BC Place in Vancouver. The five Women’s National Team heroes will be welcomed by their former teammate, Candace Chapman, who herself is an honoured member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame from the Class of 2018.

The five honoured members are Randee Hermus from the Class of 2019, Karina LeBlanc and Brittany Timko-Baxter from the Class of 2020, and Martina Franko and Rhian Wilkinson from the Class of 2022.

Randee Hermus
Randee Hermus played nine international seasons for Canada from 2000 to 2008, notably making 113 international “A” appearances as a midfielder, centre back and full back. She represented Canada at two FIFA Women’s World Cups and one Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. She scored 12 goals, recorded four assists, won three Concacaf silver medals, and one Pan American Games bronze medal. From 2005 to 2008, she made a then-record of 46 consecutive appearances for Canada.
 
Hermus was twice the runner up in voting for Canadian Player of the Year, finishing second behind Christine Sinclair in 2004 and 2005. She played club football in Canada and Norway and was Most Valuable Player of the 2004 USL W-League Championship. She was a two-time USL W-League winner with Vancouver Whitecaps (2004, 2006) and a two-time Canada Soccer National Championships Jubilee Trophy winner with Surrey United SC (2006, 2011). She is also an honoured member of the Simon Fraser University Athletics Hall of Fame.

Karina LeBlanc
Karina LeBlanc is Canada’s only two-time Concacaf champion and first five-time FIFA Women’s World Cup participant. She represented Canada on the international stage for 18 years from 1998 to 2015, retiring as the second-longest serving member in Women’s National Team Program history. She made 110 international “A” appearances, won six Concacaf medals (including gold in 1998 and 2010), two Pan American Games medals (including gold in 2011), and that famous bronze medal from the London 2012 Olympic Games (which was recently honoured by the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame).

LeBlanc played her professional football in Canada and USA, notably winning the 2013 NWSL Championship with Portland Thorns FC in 2013 and reaching the Women’s Professional Soccer final with Los Angeles Sol in 2009. She was an All-WUSA Second Team goalkeeper in 2003, the USL W-League Goalkeeper of the Year in 2005, an All-Tournament Team goalkeeper at the 2004 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the first runner-up in voting for the 2009 Canada Soccer Player of the Year. She also set Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team records for most clean sheets in a season (8 in 2010) and career (47).

Brittany Timko Baxter
Brittany Timko Baxter is a London 2012 Olympic Games medalist and three-time FIFA Women’s World Cup participant. She made 132 international “A” appearances, won five medals from five Concacaf tournaments and one Pan American Games medal. Playing across multiple positions from fullback to midfield to forward, she scored five goals and eight assists. At the youth level, she won silver at the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Canada 2002, won the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship in 2004, and won the Golden Boot as the top scorer at the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Thailand 2004.

Across her career, Timko Baxter played her club football in Canada, USA, Australia, Sweden, and Germany. She was a two-time USL W-League winner with Vancouver Whitecaps (2004, 2006) and the BC Soccer Adult Player of the Year in 2003. She was the BC Soccer Youth Player of the Year in 2002 and the Sport BC Junior Athlete of the Year in 2003. When she left football as an active player, she ranked tied for fourth on Canada Soccer’s all-time Women’s National Team list for international appearances.

Martina Franko
Martina Franko was a FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games participant, helping Canada reach the quarter-finals at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. She won two Concacaf silver medals and a bronze medal at the Rio 2007 Pan American Games. In all, she made 55 international “A” appearances as a forward and centre back from 2005 to 2009, of note leading Canada in minutes played in 2006 and 2007. She was voted to the All-Time Canada XI as a centre back in 2012.

Franko was a club champion in the WPSL, the USL W-League, the WPS regular season, and Canada Soccer’s National Championships. She was the WPSL Top Scorer in 2002, a USL W-League All-Western All-Star in 2004, and the Top Scorer at Canada Soccer’s National Championships in 2004 and 2006. She was also named to the USL W-League Championship’s All-Tournament Team in 2006. From her college career, she was inducted to the Colorado College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.

Rhian Wilkinson
Rhian Wilkinson was a Concacaf champion and two-time Olympic Games bronze medal winner. She represented Canada at four FIFA World Cups and three Olympic Games, also winning six medals from six Concacaf tournaments (one gold, four silver and one bronze) and three medals from three Pan American Games (gold, silver, bronze). In all, she made 181 international “A” appearances from 2003 to 2017, ranked third all time when she left international football.

Voted to the All-Time Canada XI during her playing career, Wilkinson played her professional football in Canada, USA and Norway, notably helping Lillestrøm SK reach the 2009 Norway Cup final and winning the 2012 Toppserien league title. She was the USL W-League Scoring Champion in 2005 and then helped the Ottawa Fury reach the USL W-League Championship Final in 2006. A six-time Québec Soccer Professional or Senior Player of the Year, she was also a two-time Sports Québec Le Maurice winner. From her college career, she was inducted to the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame in 2013.

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame
The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours Canadian players that have played the game with excellence at the international and club level. With the three new selections for 2022, the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame now features 205 honoured members: 140 players, 13 coaches/managers, 10 referees, and 42 builders.

As a Canada Soccer Hall of Fame priority achieved this year, the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame’s Modern Canadian Players category now features an even balance of former Men’s National Team and Women’s National Team players. With this year’s class, there are now 29 former Men’s National Team Players and 29 Women’s National Team players from the 1980s/90s forward. This balance reflects the modern era during which international football at the very highest level has both a men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup as the pinnacle of the sport (since the inauguration of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991).